tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post3454661925516338527..comments2016-03-09T11:32:05.283-05:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Gamma World, Cover to Cover (Part V)James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-88440484630565131722011-05-10T21:21:38.052-04:002011-05-10T21:21:38.052-04:00James wrote:&quot;The funny things is that, at the...James wrote:&quot;The funny things is that, at the time I played Gamma World, I don&#39;t think I even noticed this aspect of the game and I honestly can&#39;t recall any significant cases where much hinged on the rulebook&#39;s lack of specificity.&quot;<br /><br />And that, sir, is the crux of why we extol the virtues of the &quot;old days&quot;. ;)toddroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05668825555921002430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-61204608873480903782011-05-10T17:05:59.888-04:002011-05-10T17:05:59.888-04:00I do remember that; I also remember thinking that ...I do remember that; I also remember thinking that it was a really bad idea.John Harper Brinegarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592827787099084705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47438577809971380912011-05-10T16:22:32.279-04:002011-05-10T16:22:32.279-04:00Ah, &quot;De-evolution&quot;. What a wicked mutat...Ah, &quot;De-evolution&quot;. What a wicked mutation. I recall a Sage Advice or Dispel Confusion column back in the early 1980s where someone asked what effect the de-evolution attack would have on AD&amp;D characters. The answer, certified &quot;official&quot; by Jim Ward and/or EGG, was that it would level drain targets by one level per segment (!!!). Anyone else remember this one?Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08868302412533031659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32517307034024312902011-05-10T14:57:29.675-04:002011-05-10T14:57:29.675-04:00I think we can find another reason for the &quot;n...I think we can find another reason for the &quot;no PC plants&quot; rule in the list of fictional inspirations for <i>Gamma World</i>. <i>The Long Afternoon of Earth</i> is full of mutant plant antagonists, and I think that book shaped the designers&#39; view of mutant plants more than anything else. (I&#39;m not sure there would even be mutant plants in the game if not for <i>The Long Afternoon of Earth</i>.) If I ever run a GW game again, I&#39;d like to use the morel as an NPC (read the book to find out what I&#39;m talking about).John Harper Brinegarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592827787099084705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-88032849781272484582011-05-10T14:55:37.426-04:002011-05-10T14:55:37.426-04:00&quot;It the creature mutates in a defective manne...&quot;It the creature mutates in a defective manner for the first two or three generations, it will not be able to survive, so choose another creature and start over.&quot;<br /><br />Interesting to note that Traveler isn&#39;t the only game where it&#39;s possible to die during character creation!Matthew Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04905727799828366356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-10054297568060499322011-05-10T14:21:02.066-04:002011-05-10T14:21:02.066-04:00I decided to keep the restriction of no plant PCs ...I decided to keep the restriction of no plant PCs for my game, at least for the time being. All my players were essentially new to <i>Gamma World</i> (even though they are all long-time RPGers) and I wanted everything about the experience to be mysterious and strange to them. Keeping mutant plants &quot;monsters-only&quot; was an aspect of that. It left me, as the GM, an area of dangerous weirdness in the game that the players were always investigating from the outside.Duglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04952607750940479779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-58905355395473405732011-05-10T13:48:39.177-04:002011-05-10T13:48:39.177-04:00Prior to Part V, I always prepared to believe that...<i>Prior to Part V, I always prepared to believe that Gamma World wasn&#39;t the silly RPG I thought it was. Now, I&#39;m fairly certain I was right all along...</i><br /><br>Care to elaborate?James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-44202642489791750032011-05-10T13:48:15.338-04:002011-05-10T13:48:15.338-04:00Frankly, I like the restriction. Partly because I ...<i>Frankly, I like the restriction. Partly because I like using them as &#39;monsters&#39;, and partly because PC-controlled Plants pushes the silliness quotient a little far for me.</i><br /><br>I actually agree with you, for what it&#39;s worth.James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-70088582751600944582011-05-10T13:13:38.364-04:002011-05-10T13:13:38.364-04:00One thing that bothers me about the bone mutation ...One thing that bothers me about the bone mutation is that it&#39;s the exact sort of thing that would slip past me and my players. The attack routine is pretty built in and runs past before you even think about it. Every time we&#39;ve had something nonspecific (not &quot;-1 CON&quot; or whatnot, which is easily noted on a character sheet) that influences damage, it tends to get lost in the scuffle. That&#39;s our own fault, though.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01320444125159566443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6168011618723301532011-05-10T12:49:16.010-04:002011-05-10T12:49:16.010-04:00There was a cool article in the Ares section of a ...There was a cool article in the Ares section of a Dragon Magazine (the issue number of which I can&#39;t call to mind right now) that had a randomized chart with more specific instances of &quot;New Body Parts&quot;. Perhaps someone out there can help jog my memory. <br /><br />I ended up folding most of its contents into the Physical Mutations table for my New West homebrew, replacing some of the more &quot;super heroic&quot; (in my own personal purveiw) type physical mutations.BigFellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052419088140204154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-36086429688938897602011-05-10T12:41:23.613-04:002011-05-10T12:41:23.613-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14678830531201458343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-83976673647156169312011-05-10T12:36:06.813-04:002011-05-10T12:36:06.813-04:00I had blogged about the &quot;vague&quot; nature o...I had blogged about the &quot;vague&quot; nature of some of the mutation descriptions a few months ago when I talked about my memories of <i>Gamma World</i>. I basically have the same reaction as you.<br /><br />About 10 years ago, I would have thought the descriptions like the ones you posted above &quot;bad game design&quot; because it doesn&#39;t specifically state what happens. Flash-forward to today, and I think it&#39;s actually quite fun. It leaves the door open for more imagination in designing the effects of the mutations, rather than &quot;boxing you in.&quot; <br /><br />I know for myself whenever I rolled the &quot;New Body Parts&quot; mutation, I would go wild inventing new things like new organs that absorbed radiation, spiky spine growths, tentacles... it was so much more fun than if it had been a prescribed list that never changed.Martin R. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672657745232101753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-42153656416695409312011-05-10T11:55:41.906-04:002011-05-10T11:55:41.906-04:00Interesting text about Mutant Plants being less in...Interesting text about Mutant Plants being less intelligent or having shorter lifespans compared to other character types. I&#39;d always assumed that the restriction was due to the Plants taking the role of antagonistic flora in a dangerous environment.<br /><br />Frankly, I like the restriction. Partly because I like using them as &#39;monsters&#39;, and partly because PC-controlled Plants pushes the silliness quotient a little far for me.KPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18374233546533225028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-14700443854108628262011-05-10T11:35:45.660-04:002011-05-10T11:35:45.660-04:00I just ignored the playable Mutant Plant restricti...I just ignored the playable Mutant Plant restriction. I just treated their design as a Mutant Animal, but with 1d10 Plant Mutations, and a slightly less favorable reaction on the <i>Charisma Table Modifiers</i> (page 8).<br /><br />Naturally, they have a normal range of intelligence, and mobility - although, I noted that the redundant <i>&quot;Mobility&quot;</i> mutation (renamed <i>&quot;Immobility&quot;</i>), as one that would restrict the mutant to a pot of soil (or a human/animal host, with <i>Parasitic Attachment</i>), thus necessitating the need to be carried. It can be quite a hindrance - more so, when the character becomes too burdensome by it&#39;s handler - but its kind of amusing to see someone like Mad Max running around with an intelligent potted ficus under his arm, like it was a football.<br /><br />Fun times! =DMalcadonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03111796978336546944noreply@blogger.com